what does unibody mean?

I am not a mac person, therefore forgive my ignorance. What does unibody mean (as in aluminum unibody macbook-pro)?

 

The body is one piece.

 

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/design.html

 

Before the unibodies came out last year, Apple made aluminum Macbook Pros as well, but they were not laser cut from a single block of aluminum. Thus the unibody name is also there to help distinguish the older models from the newer models.
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I love the video below , watch it in HD and fullscreen.

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they are not laser cut even now. They are simply precision milled.

 

The only thing i have seen getting laser cut is the speaker grill holes.

 

The term "unibody" is borrowed from the automotive industry term of the same name which denotes a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin.

Which is to mean that the external surfaces are not merely a covering, but actually the entire support structure and covering as one piece, hence "uni" and "body" as one component.

Typical notebook/laptop construction uses a frame and many "skin" components that comprise the external surfaces. By using a unibody concept, the design is not only simpler, but actually stronger and more rigid as there are no weaknesses or potential loosening created by attachment points.

The unibody construction also yields aesthetic charm with a very smooth surfaces with little or no gaps or seams. The only panel openings on the Macbook is a main access panel on the current model, and an additional battery door on the previous generation unibody MacBooks.

 

the only reason we use the term unibody is to differentiate from the classic macbook pro machines, whose form factor stayed essentially the same for about a decade.

the design changed significantly just recently.

 

Germans...............

 

Damn, that is amazing to watch.

 

i watched this when these unibodies first came out and i ended up buying mine in november 2008....

 

they do minor Laser cutting... yeah its mainly just the speaker holes they laser.

 

Here's the video of actual Macbook unibodys being made. The other video is not a Mac, it goes way to slow

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/design.html Video is on the right side.

 

Your right, it`s not the current uni-body most likely a pro-type but it`s the best video i have seen , I have see the video you posted, liked months ago, that where you see the speaker grill being cut out by the laser and was discussed here a few posts ago.

It`s still fantastic to watch.

 

Not even a prototype, Apple would never show that, it's just some one making a copy. The video I posted was the video shown at the keynote for the first Macbook unibodys.

 

OK , find me a HD quality video of the unibody being machined and post it here, I would love to see it.

Also how do you know the video i posted is not a prototype?

 

From what I know all prototyping is done at Apple, not some German company. Apple is VARY secretive and has high security, no one would be allowed in their with a camera for 40ish min when something like that is being done. I believe the up coming documentary Objectified gets to go into Apples machine shop. But I doubt there would of been any prototypes lying around.

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If you look at the picture i am posting, you are saying this DATRON company is making and publishing on youtube , extremely similar unibodys to apples and they do not get sued to death.

Just compare the key placement to the video you just posted they are virtually identical, even down to the power button in the top right corner.

 

They would probably use the word "monocoque" if this were the case.

 

Are they selling them? I could make a exact replica of a Unibody post a video on youtube and Apple can't sue me. Plus that does not even look like a unibody, so Apple couldn't even sue if they where selling them, and even if it looked exactly like it I still don't think Apple could sue them, unless they where selling them with the Apple brand.

 

I give up, you win

 

These videos are just fantastic. For those of us obsessed with build-quality, design and aesthetics pretty much have only one choice of notebook maker.

 

Yeah, HP.

 

Way too automotive. ....
Why would they? "Monocoque" and "unibody" are virtual synonyms. Apple is free to use either term, perhaps they simply made the right choice. (being facetious) LOL

 

While the design may be secretive, I don't know of any company that DOESN'T outsource the work.

Apple doesn't have the expertise to make all metal prototypes, so most likely they outsourced the work to a company/shop with the expertise and the machinery to make an all metal body prototype. Nor does Apple have the experience of working on this material on a large scale, nor do they make the machinery.

And don't underestimate the German engineers. They don't have the fourth largest GDP without having a lot of experience.

 

I said "obsessed with" not "hate".

 

If I was obsessed with CPU speed, I wouldn't be watching videos from Intel.

Rather I would be reading about independent benchmarks. While HP's Elitebooks not only claim to be durable, but they have been TESTED to be durable.

 

http://www.intomobile.com/2009/01/2...ook-inside-jonathan-ives-design-workshop.html

Yup, a multi-billion dollar company can't have the expertise to do prototyping in house. LOL If Apple couldn't do it, no one could.

 

the new hp envy 15 runs waaay too hot imho and the multi touch buttons do not work as advertised from what i read on engadget...

 

No one has the expertise to make a working prototype? There is more to the prototype than just aesthetics. Does it interfere with the radios? How does it handle heat? What kind of heatsink would you need? What kind of machinery would you need to handle your level of production?

This guy is a designer. He's not a whole iteration process.

 

This guy is not just a designer, he's an industrial designer. They don't design purely based on aesthetics. Whoever manufactures the product is a different story.

Its similar to a friend of mine who is an interior designer. She just doesn't make things look good, she knows the inner workings of what goes into an interior. What materials are fire safe, building codes, how heavy a door should be for easy opening whether swinging or sliding.

Obviously there are more people in a team to develop something, but these designers aren't there just to make things look good.